LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas voters are about evenly split on legislation that would allow college faculty to carry concealed handguns on campus, according to poll results released Friday.

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas voters are about evenly split on legislation that would allow college faculty to carry concealed handguns on campus, according to poll results released Friday.

House Bill 1243 by Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, would allow trained and licensed staff and faculty to carry a concealed handgun on a university, college or community college campus. It would require an annual vote by the governing board of institutions of higher education to adopt a policy against bringing the guns on campus.

Results of a Talk Business-Hendrix College poll showed 49.5 percent of respondents favored the measure, 43 percent opposed and 7.5 percent said they did not know.

The survey, conducted Wednesday, included automated phone calls to 675 Arkansas voters statewide and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

Talk Business and Hendrix College also asked respondents about a $1.1 billion steel mill proposed for Mississippi County. The deal would require the Legislature to approve a $125 million bond issue. Officials say the mill would employ more than 500 workers and pay annual salaries averaging $75,000.

The poll showed 64.5 percent said they approved of the project, 17.5 percent disapproved and 18 percent did not know.

Poll results also show 6 in 10 Arkansas voters favor a measure in the Legislature to ban abortions at 12 weeks into a pregnancy and more than half support expanding Medicaid, according to results released Thursday.